Valley Girl
by acarly
Summary: A new girl comes to Castle Rock... Ace/OC
1. Chapter 1

The girls and I had just driven past the "Welcome to Castle Rock!" sign and were already bored.

While my parents were ordering around the moving staff, the girls and I wanted to explore the town.

My parents decided, out of nowhere, that they wanted to live a country lifestyle about five months prior. Basically, they wanted a huge house and more acclaim for being wealthy, so fresh out of high school, my parents dragged me to Castle Rock, Oregon to live the 'good life'.

I, of course, was not very happy about this. But, without having any college plans, a boyfriend, or any real future in California, I decided to move to hell....and bring my friends along with me. Luckily, they had nothing better to do anyways. We had already exhausted our time in Santa Clarita, and we all seemed to want something new.

My parents didn't seem to mind. With the girls here, it meant less time spent with me, which is all they ever seemed to want. Coincidentally, this suited me just fine.

As we were driving around town we saw the basics: a general store, a couple bars, a diner, and the drive-in movie theatre. Since we had nothing else to do, and since it was past noon, we decided to go get a drink.

I found a parking spot, and the girls piled out of the car.

First out was Jessie. Jessica Moreland was my best friend and had been since we were toddlers. She had short curly strawberry blonde hair, with pale green eyes. She was wearing a form fitting yellow dress, that showed off her curves, that was too short, coming up just above her knees. During this time, younger girls, such as ourselves, were supposed to dress quite conservatively. No belly button could show, ever, and dresses such as the ones we wore were considered highly inappropriate. All us girls liked to dress well, and didn't like to conform to the acceptable social standards of the period. Gossipers had a field day.

Next out was Marty. Martina Witherfield was the funniest person I knew. She could make pretty much anyone laugh no matter the circumstance. Her humor was quite out there, and she really had no shame. She would tell any joke she deemed funny, not caring if she was talking about 'inappropriate' things. The sex jokes she told were a riot. My mother hated her, which made me love her even more. She was quite short, at 5'2", and had long straight black hair and short bangs. She had really pale skin, with bright blue eyes, and looked quite stunning with her red lipstick and black dress.

Next was Megan Anderson. Megan and Marty were best friends. Whilst Marty was out there and outgoing, Megan was her complete opposite. She was very shy and quiet, but probably the best listener and giver of advice. We all tended to go to her for all of our problems, except problems with boys, with which they came to me. She was quite tall, at 5'9" and very thin. In the time where curviness was considered quite sexy, she was flat top to bottom. She was a bottle blonde, and had big green eyes that stared at everything and everyone with an air of innocence. She was pretty adorable.

I got out of the car last, and shut the door. It was fucking hot outside. My dark brown hair was curled into ringlets that came down just past my shoulders. My big brown eyes twinkled with mischef. I was the unofficial leader of the girls. I was loud, sarcastic and always in trouble. I had quite a body. Very full on top and bottom with a dainty waist, which is why I tended to have boys following me around like puppies. I actually enjoyed this a lot, though I would never tell. It really was quite an ego boost.

I was wearing a tight, rather short, navy blue halter dress with strappy red shoes. I had my bright red lipstick on which made my full lips impossibly huge.

I smiled at the other girls and we all walked into the nearest bar, Irby's Billiards.

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I walked in first, and after my eyes adjusted to the light in the room, I led the way to a small table near the pool tables.

We all got settled and looked around. We were fresh meat, so to speak, so most eyes were upon us. I had a feeling that they were hardly ever new people around here, much less a group of attractive women.

"Jessie, go get us some beers." I told her. I had a habit of ordering people around.

Without argument, she walked over to the bar, put her elbows on the counter and smiled coyly, asking the old bartender for four Pabst Blue Ribbons. The bartender, still dazed from her smile, got her beers very quickly, she grabbed them, smiled politely then started walking back to our table while rolling her eyes. We all liked to mess around with old guys like that. Did they really expect a bunch of young hot girls like us to fall all over them? You'd be surprised how many did.

We all were talking, drinking and having a good time when the door opened and six younger men walked in. The bar quieted quite a bit, which caused us girls to look up at the commotion or more like the lack of commotion.

To us, they were just six greasers, (a couple of whom were sexy as hell), but we could tell right away that these guys were a big deal around here. Some people even seemed to be afraid.

The guys walked right to a table in the back corner and sat down. Beers were taken over to them immediately. They started talking and laughing and generally just having a good time.

Back at our table, we had finished our beers and were bored.  
I decided to have some fun. "Girls. Care to spice up this afternoon with a game?" I grinned mischievously and looked around the table at them.

Jessie, my partner in crime, automatically agreed nodding her head like a crazy person and we looked to the other girls. It all depended on Marty. If Marty played, then Meg would be down. Marty nodded yes.

Look out, boys!

"Okay, here's the game. Two of us go up a guy, and the first one to get him to buy her a drink wins. No blatant asking for a drink either. This is a game of seduction! The winner gets to make the other girl do whatever she wants." I noticed Megan's worried expression. "Within reason, of course" I assured her.

We talked amongst ourselves and we decided that I was going against Marty and Megan against Jessie.

I decided to be nice, so I let Marty choose the guy. She choose a guy leaning on the wall, watching two of his other friends play pool. He was probably around our age, maybe a little older and was dressed quite preppy.

"Marty, I'll give you ten seconds head start." I smiled my sweet little, not-so-innocent smile at her.

She grinned and walked over to the guy, leaning against a near-by pool table. Amateur. She sat just a bit too far away, and didn't even look at him. She was trying to play hard to get and get him to walk over to her, which may have worked out eventually, had I not walked over to him.

To get to the wall he was leaning against I had to walk near the table of greasers. They were fairly close to the pool table and I bet they could hear what happened next, but I didn't really pay attention to that.

I walked up to the guy directly and leaned against the same wall he was. I made sure to get just close enough so that we were barely not touching. I know he could smell my perfume and after a second or so of standing there I looked over at him.

"Hey baby." I almost laughed at the look of shock and confusion on his face. Guess girls weren't too direct around here.

He stuttered hello after a few seconds. Then there was silence. Time to make my move.

"So, I just moved here today." He stared at me blankly. "It's quite a shock to be here after living in California for so long." Again, no reaction. Hmm. Time to really go for it.

"Is it always so goddamn fucking hot here? Me and the girls have been trying to cool off with no avail. We were thinking about going swimming or something, just as soon as we quench our thirst."

Once again, he said nothing, just stared with his mouth slightly agape.

I was starting to get mad. "Do you ever fucking talk? What the fuck is wrong with you?"

He spoke, finally! "Sorry. I just don't do this often."

"Do what? Talk?" I asked sarcastically. Whoa. Calm down girl, or you'll scare him away!

He shuffled his feet around. "Well...yeah."

"Does this go for all of Oregon, or just you?" I was trying to make light of the situation.

"Uh....." He looked around nervously.

Marty saw this as her opening, walked over, and leaned against the other side of him. Unlike me and him, they were shoulder to shoulder.

"Hi, I'm Marty. What's your name?" She smiled sweetly. Bitch.

"Jack. Nice to meet you." I was shocked. What just happened? Why was he talking to her so willingly! Am I that intimidating?

She beamed. "Well, it really has been *my* pleasure to meet you.."

I interrupted. "I'm Val."

He looked up at me. He was opening his mouth to speak when Marty cut him off.

"I'm new around here. Perhaps you can show me around?" She looked at him with her puppy-dog eyes. Shit. Well, if she was playing dirty, so was I.

I started coughing. Hard. Even getting my eyes to water for extra effect.

"Shit. You okay?" He asked. I nodded my head no. "Well...can I get you something to drink?"

I immediately stopped coughing and practically beamed at Marty.

"Looks like I won." She frowned at me.

"What am I going to make you doooo!?" I asked her in a sing-song voice.

I linked my arm with hers and we started walking back to our table. I happened to glance at the greasers while we were walking by and they were all staring at us. They were all pretty cute. With the exception of the blonde in the middle. He was absolutely-fucking-gorgeous. I played it cool and frowned at them, "What?" I asked in a snippy tone and we walked back to our table.

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As soon as we sat down, I asked Marty "Did you see the blonde?"

"Omigod, yes, he was so fucking boss."

"Which blonde?!!" Jessie asked me.

"The one smoking the cigarette right now. With the blue eyes." Marty answered her.

We all looked, more like stared, okay, more like ogled him for a little while. He must have felt our eyes because he looked over at us. Everyone but me turned away staring at the wall or their shoes. I smiled at him. "Dibs." I told the girls while maintaining eye contact with the sexy stranger. They laughed.

After a second, he looked away, saying something to the brunette guy next to him. The next thing I realize, the two of them are walking to our table.

Time for some real fun.

"So, Val, what are you going to make me do? Please nothing too embarrassing. We just moved here. I don't want to make that bad an impression this early on..." Marty was rambling on and on and would have continued had I not stopped her.

"Relax Val. Go get us a bottle of Whiskey. Maker's Mark should do fine....Don't forget to get shot glasses...Actually, better get 2 bottles."

She grinned and obliged quite willingly. We both knew that I went easy on her.

Right as Marty was leaving, the guys arrived at our table. They pulled up two more chairs and sat down without being asked. I liked their nerve, but they couldn't know that....at least not yet.

"Jessie, dear, I must be getting old, because I don't seem to remember inviting these unknown gentlemen to sit with us."

She looked from them to me and smiled. "You didn't. They invited themselves, darling."

I winked at her. "Hmm...Well, I suppose it would be rude of us to ask them to leave now that they are sitting with us."

She laughed. "When have we cared about whether or not we're rude?

I chuckled. "I don't suppose we ever have."

I looked at them, a hint of a smile on my face. "So, what are your names strange rude men?"

The blonde smirked. "I'm Ace." He pointed to the brunette next to him. "This here is Eyeball. It's a pleasure, ladies." Marty walked back up to the table and sat down. "Oh wait, it's probably *you're* pleasure, right?"

Marty looked mortified. I burst out laughing. Jessie joined me.

"You know what, you guys are alright. I'm Val. This here is Jessie. Marty is the one blushing red like a tomato and Megan is sitting next to her. And I'm gonna have to say Ace, it really is *my* pleasure." I smirked.

Jessie then addressed the group. "Shots?"

It was decided a little while later that we should play a drinking game in order to get to know one another better (Ace's idea). I suggested "I've Never."

"Okay, here's the game. We all go around the circle and say things we've never done. If someone says they've never done something that you've done, you have to drink. No rules and nothing is off limits. It's great playing this game with good friends, eliminates the chance of people lying." I smirked. "Let's have....Meg start first. She hasn't done a lot of things." I smiled at her so she knew I was joking. I was always trying to get her to speak up. She was so darn shy.

Ace spoke up. "Why don't we invite the other guys over here. Make it more interesting?"

"Why not?" Ace motioned the other guys to join us and they pulled up another table to make more room. Now we had a party.

Ace pointed to the guys, "Billy, Charlie, Vince and Fuzzy. Now, Megan, are you ready to start?" He smiled at her.

Meg gulped. She looked around at the guys and saw that Charlie was starring at her so intensely that I thought he must have been trying to will her dress off. Aww. He had a crush on the girl. She smiled. "I've never stolen anything."

Everyone else drank. Next up was Marty. "I've never masturbated." I laughed. She always was the one to make things dirty.

The guys looked nervous. Me and Jessie saw that they were, so we laughed, clinked glasses and drank. The rest of the guys followed suit.

I was up next. "I've never..."I trailed off while trying to think of a good one. I smiled maliciously, looked at Jessie and said "I've never sucked on someone's toe."

Jessie looked at me. Took a shot. A faint blush appeared on her cheeks. "You realize this means war?"

I beamed. "Yes, of course, darling."

She grinned back maliciously. "I've never had sex with the principal."

I tried to not have a shocked look on my face. What. A. Bitch. Like I wasn't already embarrassed enough about that.

I took a shot. All of the guys, minus Ace, who just looked amused, mouths dropped to the floor.

I smirked at them. "I graduated with honors, boys. Can you say the same?"

Eyeball was up next, I could tell the game was just starting to get good. "I've never...been out of the state."

All us girls and Billy took a shot. I looked at Eyeball seriously. "Eyeball. You are a pussy."

Everyone laughed and then the game got good. I was getting very drunk. All in all, it was turning out to be a great afternoon.

Out of the corner of my eye I saw the door open. I heard heels clacking on the ground and I looked up to see satan. I mean my mother.

"Hello my darling daughter."

"Mother. What a pleasure seeing you. I can't remember the last time we talked." I might as well be the first one to get a dig in.

She smiled at me and looked around the bar. "I was driving around looking for you. I saw this place and thought about how trashy and unclassy it was. So, I guessed you would be here. Of course, I also saw your car out front."

I smiled sweetly at her. She eyed my company before continuing, "You know, darling, I met a couple of really nice young men. Very cute and proper. I would suggest you meet them, however, I don't think they like loose women."

"Well, that's interesting. Did you meet them through the young girls daddy is currently fucking?"

She laughed. I stood up and offered to pull up a chair for her. She nodded her head 'no'.  
While I was out of my chair she looked me up and down.

"Now, darling girl, that outfit is far too inappropriate. You should go home and put on clothes a whore wouldn't wear."

"Oh, mother, you crack me up. If you wanted your dress back, all you had to do was ask!"

Out of the corner of my eye I noticed how awkward the guys were. They were obviously not used to my mother and I's verbal sparring.

"Mother, did you come here for something in particular? Or to just stop by and 'chat'?"

"Oh yes, dear, thank you for reminding me. I was distracted by the unkemptness of your male companions. You're father and I are going out of town for a week. We're going to leave shortly. You girls will be fine on your own, yes?"

"Of course mother. You two will be okay with me drinking all the alcohol, having a party, and having random hate sex with strangers, yes?"

She laughed. "Only as long as you don't get pregnant."

I laughed along with her. "I'll try not to, but then again, I can always get another abortion."

She laughed, kissed my cheek and walked out. I sat back down smiling to myself. I looked around at the guys and their jaws were practically on the floor.

"You know, boys, I was going to invite you to come over this weekend. However, if any more flies fly into your mouths I believe you're going to get sick. I can't have sick people at my party."

The girls laughed. "Who was next?"

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Charlie was looking around. He didn't know what to say. "I've..never....I've neevverrrr...."

Eyeball spoke up, "For Christ's sake Charlie. Just say you're a cherry. Get it over with."

Charlie looked up, blushing, "What the hell man?"

Marty said seriously, "Now, Eyeball, no need to embarrass the boy. He's had sex with your mother plenty of times, I'm sure."

Ace, Jessie, Charlie and I laughed hysterically. Even Meg giggled a little. Eyeball looked a little sore about getting told by a girl, but didn't say anything. I could tell he wasn't used to getting talked to like that.

I'm sure that if Ace didn't find me amusing, or who am I kidding, didn't want to fuck me, Marty would've have gotten away with saying that.

Jessie, trying to make light of the situation said, "Marty. I know that you made that joke just to make up for the fact that the idea of fucking friends parents hits a little too close to home. We all know that you've fucked Val's dad plenty of times."

Everyone looked from me to Marty. I looked from Marty to Jessie. "What?"

Jessie looked shocked. "I thought you knew....She said she was going to tell you ages ago." Jessie glared at Marty.

Marty looked at me with wide eyes. She looked terrified. And she should be. I have hurt girls pretty badly for doing much less.

I showed no emotion on my face, but said cooly, "Does my mother know? Is this why she hates you so much?"

"....Yes. She walked in on us one day. I swear to God, Val. I don't know how is started. I came to see you one day, and you weren't home...He said I could wait for you. Then we had a drink, then another, and then shit, I don't know..."

"Hmm...Well, whatever. If it pissed off my mom, I don't really care. We're out of alcohol. I'm gonna go get another bottle." I walked over to the bar, thinking and not watching where I was going when I ran into a body.

"Well, look who we have here boys. Fresh meat." I looked up to see another greaser, probably from a rival gang, smirking at me.

"Can I get you a drink, sweetheart?" He asked me in what he must have thought was a seductive way.

"No. But you can get the fuck out of my way," I said in a sickenly sweet voice.

"Now, girl, that wasn't very polite. Shall I teach you a lesson?" He laughed along with his friends as they crowded around me.

I felt a hand wrap around my waist and looked up to see Ace. I smiled and winked. We would have fun with this.

I leaned into his embrace and smirked at the other guy, who had the decency to look abashed. Apparently, like I guessed, Ace wasn't to be messed with. I was "his" (or at least the guy thought I was) so I shouldn't have been messed with either.

"Baby, this guy was about to 'teach me a lesson'!" I laughed looking up at Ace. "Apparently, I'm not polite enough. Since he is Mr. Etiquette, he kindly offered to help."

"You do have a smart mouth." He smiled at me, then looked to the other guys, giving them the coldest look I have ever seen.

The greaser began to backtrack. "Look, man, I didn't know she was yours. I just saw that she was stacked and hoped we could make it...and oh shit...I..didn't mean it that way..."

Ace was furious and looked like he was about to step forward and do something, so I held on to him tighter. "How cute, baby. He actually thought he had a decent chance with me."

Ace relaxed a bit. "Imagine that."

I smiled at Ace again, then looked at the greaser kid. "Look, kid, you're..uh...well...you're alright or whatever, but I like men, not little boys. Frankly, I don't think you have what it takes to please a woman. Do yourself a favor and stick to young girls who don't know any better, kay? Also, why don't you just get bent?!"

Ace laughed and ran his hand up and down on my side. I shivered. I looked up at him, put my arms around his neck, licked my lips and said in a sing-song voice, "If you're gonna tease me, please me."

Ace looked to the greaser guy and told him to get lost. The kid and his friends left as quickly as possible. As soon as he left, I laughed.

"You know, you probably just broke his heart." He mockingly put his hand on his heart.

"I don't really care." He smirked.

"You don't lose a wink of sleep a night, do you?"

I practically beamed at him. "Nope. But I'd be willing to lose a few with you."

"Wanna get out of here?"

"Sure. My place?"

"I'll drive."

We walked back to the table, I grabbed my keys, threw them at Jessie who was in deep conversation with Eyeball, saw that Marty was talking to Vince and Meg was talking to Charlie. The other guys were playing pool. I waved goodbye to all.

Ace wrapped his arm around my shoulders whispering naughty things into my ear as we walked to his car.

Maybe Castle Rock won't be so bad after all.


	2. Chapter 2

*I don't own Stand By Me*

I had wanted the girls to stay with me in Castle Rock forever, but towards the end of the summer, reality finally set in. They had lives to get back to, so a couple weeks before summer ended, they left.

Megan and Marty decided to go to college. Being the smart ones in our group, they had both been accepted to Wellsley. While Jessie had a job waiting for her at her father's clothing store.

It was quite a teary goodbye. I knew I would miss them dearly, however, in the short time I knew them, I knew I had found a home with the Cobras.

After just a few days in Castle Rock, Ace and I had decided to go steady. Over two months later, we were still going strong. A record for both of us.

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It was an average day in Castle Rock, and Ace, Eyeball and myself were hanging out in Irby's, drinking. We were bored and decided to look for fun. As soon as we walked outside, we ran into Eyeball's younger brother, Chris, and his best friend. Although they were just kids of about 13, they were the only ones to stand up to Ace and the gang. Ace hated this of course, and always had it out for their little gang, especially Chris.

Eyeball addressed them, "Hey girls, where ya goin'?"

Ace took the hat of Chris' friends head and twirled it around above his head. I giggled at the kid trying to get it from him. Come on, kid! You look ridiculous.

"Come on, man! My brother gave me that hat!" My smile fell immediately. I had heard about his brother. He died shortly before I got to town. Died in a car accident or something like that. I immediately felt bad for the kid. I knew I would feel awful unless I got that kid his hat back...but I couldn't do it now. I would have to do it later.

"Well now you're giving it to me." He passed the hat to Eyeball.

"You're a real asshole, you know that?" Chris said while looking Ace straight in the eyes.

Uh oh. This would not be good.

"You're brother's not very polite Eyeball." He smirked at me while saying this. Probably remembering the night we met. I gave a weak smile in return, not daring to meet his eyes.

"Now, Christopher, I know you didn't mean to insult my friend?" Eyeball said mockingly.

"I know he didn't mean to insult me. That's why I'm gonna give him the opportunity of taking it back." Ace threw the kid to the floor and held his cigarette near his eye. "Take it back kid."

His friend started pleading with Ace, "Cut it out, man! You're hurting him!!"

Chris, weighing his options and finding that he did in fact want the use of his right eye, finally took it back. Ace got up and pulled the kid to his feet.

I spoke up. "There. Now I feel a whole lot better about this." I wrapped my arms around Ace and addressed him, "What about you?" He smirked at me. So I looked toward the kids, "What about you?"

They just stared blankly at me. I tried to give an apology with my eyes, and eventually, after getting no response from the two said "Good."

I kissed Ace's cheek and started whispering in his ear, "I'm bored with them. Let's get out of here."

Without saying anything, he wrapped his arm around my shoulders and whisked me away.

"Bye girls!" Eyeball bade goodbye to the boys and started following behind us.

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A short while later, we decided to play mailbox baseball with Billy and Charlie.

Ace was first up to bat, like always, while Eyeball drove his car. I was crammed into the back with Charlie and Billy. Usually I sat up front next to Ace, but I was a little ticked off at him for treating those kids badly, so I sat in back. In doing so, Ace knew I was mad, and was taking out his frustration on any mailbox that came his way.

After hitting several metal ones, he went for a wooden one, hence, getting himself 'out'.

"Shouldn't have gone for a wooden one!" Eyeball was trying to make a joke, but since Ace was in a bad mood, it was a bad idea.

"Why don't you tell me something I don't know asshole." Ace sneered at him. He turned around, "Billy, you're up."

"Nah, you guys, I don't want to play anymore." Something was up. Billy and Charlie, who usually were chatty cathie's around me, were quiet and almost...guilty. Yep, something was definitely going on.

"Eh! You can't quit, we only played three innings! That would be a non-official game!" Eyeball was trying to coax him into playing some more.

In response, the guys just shifted around awkwardly.

"What's with you homos!" Ace looked at the guys and then, pointedly, at me. I rolled my eyes. Men. I huffed.

"You've been acting psycho all day!"

I didn't even want to dignify him with an answer, so I rolled my eyes again for good measure and took a long drink of my beer.

"What is it?!!"

Charlie spoke for all of us, "Uh..It's nothin'. Right?" He looked to Billy for agreement. "Yeah, it's nothin'."

"Then if you gentlemen don't mind, I'd like to finish this game before I start collecting my goddamn social security, okay?"

The guys murmured in agreement and I just stared out the window.

"Billy, you're up. Let's move it."

Billy got in position and started hitting mailboxes.

I just sat there for awhile, not saying anything. I thought of the girls, and how much I missed them and then suddenly, I didn't want to be with the guys anymore. "Hey Eyeball, drop me off at my house."

Eyeball was unsure of what to do. He looked from me to Ace. The tension between the two of us was palpable. If Ace didn't want to drop me off, he wouldn't do it. I couldn't help but admire his loyalty. Me and Jessie were the same way. Except, I liked to think that me and Jessie were equals, while Ace was definitely the leader.

Ace sighed. "Just do it Eyeball."

The rest of the guys were quiet on the way to my house. It was very awkward to say the least.

When we finally pulled up, I jumped over Ace and got out of the car without saying goodbye. Before I realized what was happening, Ace was dragging me inside. As soon as the door was closed I was shoved against it and pinned in place by Ace.

"What's up with you today?" He actually seemed to be concerned.

I decided to be direct. There was no point in lying since Ace would find out the truth eventually anyways. He always found out. He liked to play tough guy with everyone else, but, with me, he was different. Sweet almost. He would always make sure that things were good between us and fix any problems that came up as quickly as they came. It was one of the reasons I liked him so much. He cared.

"That kids hat..." I trailed off. Ace stared at me intensely, obviously disbelieving the words coming out of my mouth.

"That's it?" He asked incredulously. I nodded.

"It obviously meant a lot to him. I've heard his parents don't treat him too well since his brother died. I just...I can relate to that....I guess it's stupid really..." I stared at my shoes. Since when did they become so intriguing?

He sighed. "I can't just give it back to him, babe."

I wrapped my arms around him and snuggled up to him. "I know...I know..." I trailed off again, "But maybe Eyeball can leave it lying around his house to be found. If Chris happens to stumble upon it and gives it back to him...."

I could see that he was starting to cave. "Is that what you want? Would that make you happy?"

See. He was a complete sweetheart once he opened up to you. "It would make me very happy." I smiled sweetly at him.

"Fine. Whatever. The kid can have his oh-so-precious hat back."

"Good. Now, that's what would make me happy...The question is, what would make you happy Ace?" I looked up at him as innocently as I could.

He smirked at me and pulled me impossibly close. "I think you know what I want babe."

Before I knew what was happening I was lifted up against the wall and his lips came crashing down on mine. I wrapped my legs around his waist to steady myself.

Let me just say, that Ace was intense. He did everything 110% or not at all. Today was different though…He was giving 120%.

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An hour or so later, we left the house to find the guys waiting in the car. I looked over at Ace and started giggling.

"You made them wait?!" I was full on laughing now.

He smirked at them and then at me. "Sure did."

He got in the driver seat and I sat next to him. He put his arm around me then drove us over to our hangout. We met up with the rest of the gang and they decided that they wanted to get Cobra tattoos.

Ace was sitting on a truck cleaning a part of an engine, with Charlie sitting nearby. Eyeball was giving Billy a tattoo, and Vince giving Fuzzy's. I was laying on the grass nearby in my bikini, getting some sun. I tended to do this a lot, partly to get a tan, and partly for the entertainment factor. The guys would try so hard not to stare at me, especially with Ace sitting right there with his watchful eyes. Whenever I would take off my dress to reveal my bikini, I could always hear a collective intake of breath from the guys. I liked to prove that I still had 'it'.

While most girls would have been put off by the 'guy talk', I found it highly amusing. I would always chip in my thoughts on things, and although we've been hanging out for months, the guys would still get surprised by my foul mouth. I wasn't the most proper young lady.

"So, what's with you and this Connie Pallermo chick?" Eyeball asked Billy. Billy blatantly looked pained by the razorblade and I think Eyeball was just trying to get him to get his mind off the pain and to think of something pleasing. Too bad Connie didn't put out, otherwise it would have worked.

Billy sighed, "I've been seeing her for a month now, and all she'll let me do is feel her tits."

Ace chimed in, "She's a Catholic man, they're all like that. If you wanna get yourself laid you gotta get yourself a Protestant. Jews good." He smirked at me.

I winked back. "You know, Billy. I could teach ya how to spot an easy woman, for next time."

He looked suspiciously at me, "Oh yeah?"

I grinned and tried to look sweet and innocent. "Yeah. All you have to do is ask."

He looked at me even more suspiciously, if that was even possible. After a minute, while he was still staring at me, I slowly got up from the ground and walked towards him, taking extra care to sway my hips.

"So, do you want my help or not?"

He stuttered, "sssuuure."

A smile slowly crept it's way to my face, "It's a secret, though. You have to promise not to tell."

"I promise on my mother's good name."

I chuckled. "Not good enough. Swear on the Cobras." Everyone knew that our parents meant shit to us. The only way to guarantee secrecy within the group was to make them swear on each other.

"I swear on the Cobras."

I leaned in to whisper in his ear. At this point all the guys were looking our way. Ace looked amused. He knew I enjoyed teasing the guys. Hell, I teased him _all the time_ and he enjoyed that...but that kind of teasing was a different kind of teasing, highly inappropriate to be done in front of the guys.

I could tell that all the guys were trying to figure out what I was saying that was making Billy's eyes grow so huge. I could hear his breathing speed up as I continued whispering in his ear. I made sure to press myself up against him lightly. Truth was, I wasn't really saying anything bad at all. Just telling him that girls who put out don't usually wear short, tight dresses, tons of caked on makeup, etc. I told him the ones who look innocent are always a sure thing. To be honest, I had no idea what I was even saying, really, just making things up as I went.

I was so close to him that I could almost hear his heart thumping in his chest. I knew that I was getting that reaction out of him because of my proximity to him. I wasn't sure if he was terrified of being so turned on that he would block out any reason and try something with me and that Ace would beat the shit out of him, or terrified that I would try something with him and that he wouldn't be able to resist, and that Ace would beat the shit out of him. It always seemed to come down to that- Ace's reaction.

A week or so after I had arrived in town, I saw the greaser who hit on me the first day I was in town. He was beat up very badly with bruises covering most of his face and a sling on his arm. Soon after, word got around and people learned not to mess with me at all. I was Ace's.

After watching him squirm, literally, for a few more moments I pulled away. I smirked, leaned away and practically skipped over to Ace. I looked at him and gave him my puppy dog eyes. He sighed, put down the engine part and towel and let me curl up in his lap.

After a few minutes, Billy gained the color back in his face and immediately started blushing after the guys started in on him. I looked behind me to Ace and we both laughed to ourselves silently. I got Billy good. But more importantly, I still had 'it'."

Next, I was drinking Ace's beer and drowning out the conversation about the dead kid a few towns away. Every time Ace spoke I could hear the rumble of his chest. I liked it. It was extremely comforting and soothing. Ace started stroking my hair and I smiled into his chest. I lived for moments like these. And I knew he did too, though he would never admit it to anyone.

Just in time to ruin the moment, my stomach rumbled loudly. I sat up from Ace's chest and looked into his face. I winked and started in on him.

"I'm so goddamn fucking hungry. What kind of boyfriend doesn't get his girl something to eat all goddamn day?"

The guys started laughing. I turned around and glared at every single one of them. "What kind of friends are you, you fucking assholes? You could have offered to get me something to eat, but instead you do nothing but laugh. Well, fuck all of you."

If I hadn't of been smiling the whole time I 'told them off' I'm sure I would have gotten a different reaction out of them. Instead they just laughed louder.

Ace got up, and offered his hand to me. I gratefully accepted and he pulled me to my feet. I put on my dress, made Ace button up the many buttons on the back, and we jumped into his car and drove to the diner with the guys at our heels, well, more like bumper.

It was late evening when we walked out of the diner, and I shivered a bit at the cold. Ace, sensing my discomfort, shrugged off his jacket and wrapped it around my shoulders kissing my hair in the process.I knew I was lucky to have him. Hell, at this point, I thought I even loved him, but couldn't be too sure. I was definitely in an unknown territory, and didn't know how to act.

We bade goodbye to the guys and took off in Ace's car. My parents were out of town, again, but instead of going to my house, we went to Ace's. He knew that I didn't really like being at my house, whether or not my parents were there. I practically lived at his house. His mother was so sweet to me, and always made me feel welcome. Ace's father was in jail for some reason. I didn't ask why, and they didn't tell. It wasn't that important.

For the rest of the night, we hung out with his mom, talking and joking around. Who knew Ace was a momma's boy?

Ace and I stayed up for most of the night not really doing anything in particular. I don't know when it happened, but in the relatively short time of knowing Ace, I realized that I would rather be sitting with Ace on his bed, talking about nothing, than doing anything with anybody else.

The next morning I woke up really early and couldn't go back to sleep. Apparently, I was moving around quite a bit which woke Ace up.

He groaned. "Why the fuck are you up so early? Go back to sleep."

I murmured in agreement and tried to close my eyes and go back to sleep with no avail. I was perfectly comfortable snuggled up on Ace's chest with our bodies impossibly weaved together. I was exactly where I wanted to be, but just couldn't sleep. A few minutes later...

"Stop moving!"

"I'm not!"

"Yes you fucking are." I chuckled and didn't respond. I tried, once again, to go back to sleep. Several more minutes had passed and I still couldn't. Ace eventually said I was shifting around too much and kicked me out of bed. Bastard. I threw on some clothes and went to the bathroom to wash my face and get cleaned up.

I met his mother in the kitchen. We had a couple cups of coffee and gossiped. It was exactly the kind of thing I had always wanted to do with my own mother. I told her so one day and she admitted to me, that, though she loved Ace, she had always wanted to have a girl of her own to shop and gossip with.

Without realizing it, Ace had given me what I always wanted. A family. I couldn't ever tell him that, of course, it was much too sappy a thing to talk of with a macho man like him. I did, however, tell his mother that and she beamed with happiness. I was the daughter she always wanted.

After breakfast, Ace took me over to my house where I took a shower and got changed for the day. As soon as I stepped out of the bathroom in my towel I was basically attacked by Ace. Which I didn't mind at all.

But, instead of trying anything, he just held me in his arms for a minute while studying every contour of my face. He raised his hand and gently brushed my damp hair out of my face and held my chin. I looked up into his eyes. Nothing was said for a long time.

He finally broke the silence. "I love you, you know."

It took me a minute to realize that the look in his eyes was vulnerability. I had been so used to Ace being my tough guy, that I didn't think anything could phase him or make him afraid. I doubt anything did, until me. I was his only weakness and we both knew it.

"I love you too," I said very softly.

He picked me up and laid me down on my bed. Gently lifting himself on top of me. He kissed me softly, like I would break if he wasn't careful. It was the best time of my life.

{{{{{{{{{{{{{}}}}}}}}}}}}}}}}}{{{{{{{{{{{{{{{{{}}}}}}}}}}}}}}}}}{{{{{{{{{{{{{{{{{{{}}}}}}}}}}}}}}}}{{{{{{{{{{{}}}}}}

Later that morning, Ace went to Irby's to play pool with Charlie, while I went shopping with Ace's mom.

We drove to the next town over to the small women's boutique. After a couple hours and several dresses later, we returned to the house to find Ace and the guys and a bunch of fishing gear.

I could tell right away that we weren't really going fishing, but I didn't want Ace's mom to realize that something was going on, so I agreed to go without questions.

As soon as we were on the road, I was filled in. We were going after a dead kid's body. Great.

The drive was pretty boring. I was up front between Ace and Billy, with Charlie spread out by himself in the backseat. It was a pretty boring drive. Good thing we brought beer.

When the passing lane came along, Vince and Ace decided to race. I loved racing and grinned up at Ace.

"You can't let him beat you, baby."

He smirked. "Wouldn't dream of it."

I laughed as we jerked forward, our speed picking up considerably. Right as we were head to head, we saw a truck coming our way.

"Fall back Ace!" Vince yelled. "I won this one!"

Ace smirked and kept driving. The other guys in the car started to voice their concerns. They were terrified. Strangely enough, I wasn't. Ace wouldn't do anything to hurt me.

Eventually, the truck swerved out of the way and we were able to pass Vince.

"I won."

I heard Eyeball call Vince a 'cocknocker' and laugh his shrill laugh and I had to smile. Eyeball was truly one of a kind.

A short while later, we pulled up along the tracks, rightabouts where Charlie and Billy said the body was on the Back Harlow Road.

I saw Ace's leather jacket in the backseat and pulled it on. It was pretty windy and I was already cold. We all got out and started walking.

Ace, Eyeball and I were the first to arrive. As soon as we got to the clearing, we saw Chris and his friends. Shit. This would end badly.

"What the fuck do you know about this?" Ace's voice was deadly.

"Son of a bitch, my little brother!" Duh! I barely could resist rolling my eyes.

"Wasn't planning on taking the body from us, was you boys?"

Chris, visibly shaken, stood his ground. "You get away man, we found him, we got dibs!"

Even I had to giggle at that. Dibs? For a dead body?! Right!

Ace mocked him, "Aww, better start running Eyeball, _they got dibs!_"

"We earned him man! You guys came in a car! That's not fair, he's ours!" I almost felt bad for the kid. He had already been dealt a bad hand; his family life was pretty fucked up. I saw and heard the gist of it through Eyeball, who would come over to Ace's house when his father would get particularly mean. I'd had to patch up his face more times than I could count.

Eyeball took a lead from Ace and mocked them as well. _"That's not fair, he's ours!_" He smirked. "Well, not anymore."

The kid with the glasses spoke up. "There's four of us Eyeball and only two of you. You just make your move." I probably should have been offended that they didn't consider me a threat. But, turns out, later on, it worked out for my benefit. My mom always said it was better to have people doubting you than overestimating you. It was the only good advice she ever gave me.

Soon the four other guys walked over and joined the conversation. Billy was mighty pissed at his younger brother, Vern, and probably would've whipped him good, had Ace not snapped at him to stop.

Ace stared at them with an intensity to scare a much older man, "You got two options. You can leave quietly and we take the body. Or we can beat the shit out of you and then take the body."

I smiled to myself, shaking my head. He was so goddamn sure of himself right now, when just hours before he was terrified that I wouldn't love him back. Funny how things works out.

The kid with the glasses started making fun of Charlie, doing a rather good interpretation of how much of a pussy he was. I almost laughed.

Once again, Ace stopped Charlie from beating the shit out him the kid, instead focusing on Chris.

"Okay, Chambers, you little faggot. This is your last chance. What do you say kid?" Ace was very clearly giving him a way out. I could only hope he'd take it and not do something stupid.

Chris, practically shaking, said "Why don't you go home and fuck your mother some more?"

I had to give it to the kid, he had balls. How much longer he was going to be able to use them was uncertain. Ace had never looked that angry, ever.

He pulled out his switchblade. Shit. Even Eyeball was scared for his brother. He even tried to stop Ace from advancing on the kid. I know I should have done something, but I was frozen to the spot.

The kid kept mumbling something about not taking the kid and that he would have to kill him when the gun went off. The kid who had the hat the day before had shot the gun in the air.

"You're not taking him. Nobody's taking him."

Ace tried to backtrack a bit. "Come on kid, give me the gun before you take your foot off."

"No Ace I'll kill you. I swear."

"Come on LaChance, give me the gun, you must have some of your brothers good sense."

Bad move Ace, baby. Everybody knows you don't bring up a kid's dead brother while a gun is pointed at you! The kid took the safety off the gun.

"Suck my fat one, you cheap dime store hood." The kid spoke with such malice, I don't think I had ever heard someone that young be that serious.

Ace looked around, his eyes lingering on me a moment longer than anyone else. He looked at the kid again. "What are you gonna do, shoot us all?"

"No Ace. Just you."

The kid seriously looked like he would kill Ace and I could not have that. I slowly walked over to Ace and stood in front of him.

Ace warningly said "Val" but I didn't listen.

"Come on, kid. Put the gun down. This isn't worth blowing your future over." Of course I had to make a pun. I wanted to slap my forehead. Stupid. Stupid. Stupid. The kid lowered the gun slightly.

"Move out of the way Val."

I tried to make my voice as serious as possible. "I can't, kid. Not until you put the safety on and set the gun down."

I backed up so I was leaning against Ace. He tried to push me aside, but I wouldn't have it.

"Look, kid. We'll leave. But we both know this isn't going to be over." I wasn't threatening, but merely stating the fact.

Ace agreed, except he was definitely threatening them. "She's right. We will get you for this. This is big time, baby." His voice was cold. I wasn't sure if it was because the gun was still pointed in my direction, or because the body was not coming with us. Probably both.

Chris smirked. "Maybe you will, maybe you won't."

Ace smirked back. "Oh, we will."

Ace nodded towards the guys and they started walking up the hill. With one last look, I grabbed Ace's hand and practically dragged him up the hill. Once we got to the top, he dropped my hand, and put his swtichblade in his pocket. With one last look back he started walking towards the car. He didn't even look to see if I was following. Uh oh. He was definitely mad at me.

We got into the car and drove away without a word. The rest of the trip home was silent. Nobody knew what to say and, personally, I don't think there are words that would have sufficed.

Ace dropped the other guys off at home, before driving me to my house. I knew this wasn't going to be bad. Why else would he take me home? He pulled up the drive and turned the car off. Finally, after what seemed like days of silence, he spoke.

"You shouldn't have done that. I was fine on my own." Oh, I see. His ego was bruised from being saved by me.

"Yeah, I know you were...but I wasn't. I was terrified that I would have to watch you get killed. Considering we just professed our undying love for each other this morning, I didn't really want to lose you yet." I started getting emotional. I could feel the tears building in my eyes and was concentrating so hard, trying not to let them fall.

"Baby, you're not going to lose me." It was like the bridge broke and the tears started crashing down my face. I was beyond hysterical.

"Shit." I had never seen Ace look so awkward. I would have laughed in different circumstances.

I just sat there for awhile, trying to get myself to calm down. Finally, I looked over at Ace. He looked so uncomfortable, almost in pain, watching me cry. I guess he didn't have a lot of experience dealing with crying girls. I'm guessing he was the one who made them cry most of the time.

"Can we go to your house?"

Without saying anything, he turned the car on and drove home.


	3. Chapter 3

*I don't own Stand By Me*

A couple weeks passed after the incident with the body and it seemed as if everything had changed. The Cobras beat all the kids pretty badly and I couldn't do anything to stop it. However, the boys eventually earned their respect after not telling on them to their parents or the police.

So, eventually, there was a peace between the two gangs and everything was going swimmingly between everyone except Ace and I.

Something had changed dramatically for the two of us. Jessie assured me, over the phone, that it was just because the 'honeymoon' stage was over, but I don't think that was it.

I was growing restless and confused and decided that I needed to get away for awhile. So, I decided to go visit the girls in Santa Clarita, California. My home for the first 17 years of my life.

When I told Ace I was going to leave for awhile, he didn't really say anything. He didn't ask me how long I would be gone, or if I was even coming back. He didn't even sound like he was going to miss me at all. I tried not to think about that too much, or let it bother me. The days started rolling by...

The day before I was scheduled to leave, I decided to confront Ace about my leaving. I was determined to find out why he didn't seem to care anymore, and try to fix whatever the problem was before I left. I loved him, I couldn't just give up so easily.

Ace hadn't been driving me around lately, as he used to, and he wasn't even letting me stay at his house anymore. He claimed that it made his mother uncomfortable. I respected that without question. I was worried that she might've been afraid to confront me about it, for worry of ruining our relationship, so I didn't say anything about it.

Since I didn't know where he was, I decided to start at his house. His mother was there, and after asking if she knew his whereabouts, I chatted with her for awhile, before telling her I would miss her while I was gone.

She stared at me strangely. "Where are you going?"

Her expression was confused, as was mine. "Ace didn't tell you?" She nodded her head 'no'. "I'm going to California for awhile to visit old friends."

"He never mentioned that. Though, he's been away from the house pretty much 24/7, I figured it was because he was with you."

I tried not to let my face drop. I didn't want to worry her. But lately, Ace had been telling me that he was spending time with his mother. I hadn't really worried about it, since I knew deep down he was a momma's boy. Now, I was curious and scared at what I would find when I found Ace.

* * *

After searching Irby's and his other favorite spots, I sped over to the hangout. When I pulled in, I was surprised to see Ace's car...and nobody else's. Usually, we all hung out there, and I couldn't even imagine what he would be doing there alone...Which meant that he wasn't alone. Fuck.

I turned off my car but didn't get out. I was breathing heavily, shaking slightly and completely terrified of what I was about to see. I shakily opened the door and climbed out. I walked over to Ace's car and found it empty. I continued walking down the small path that would lead to the broken cars and tables. My heart was beating so loudly that I swear he could have probably heard me coming.

At first glance, I didn't see anything. Relief swept through me. I was ready to turn around and walk back, writing it off as a strange coincidence that Ace's car was here. Maybe the guys all met here earlier, and Ace didn't want to drive, so they took Vince's car. It could be possible, right? Hmm...Not probable though. Ace loves to drive. He always takes his car. Fuck. Fuck. Fuck. Fuck. Fuck. Fuck.

Wait, what was that?

I thought I heard a faint noise...was it a moan? My eyes wide, I walked around the pickup. There on a blanket, was Ace. On top of him was a half-naked blonde chick. Shit.

They didn't feel my eyes on them, or hear me walking towards them, so I cleared my throat loudly, several times. Finally, Ace looked over at me.

Here's what I wanted him to do. I wanted him to throw the blonde off him and run towards me, apologizing profusely. I wanted him to say how much he loved me, that he was just scared about how serious we were getting, and that the fact that I was leaving Castle Rock for awhile was breaking his heart. I wanted him to beg me not to go to California, instead staying with him, because he needed me.

Instead, he smirked at me evilly. He looked towards blonde, told her he would be right back, then walked over to me. He reached towards my face to tuck my hair behind my ears, but I moved backward. His touch would have been torture now.

"So you found me" He had the smuggest look on his face.

Instead of answering, I looked over at the girl who was smirking at me. I raised my eyebrow at her, sending her my best glare. She immediately looked away.

"Surprise." I was about to punch him.

My voice was weak, "You're a piece of shit." Tears started to form in my eyes.

"Don't cry Val. I'm fucking sick of the crying." What happened to him? To us?

I had to get out of here. "I'm leaving tomorrow. I don't think I will come back."

"Whatever." He didn't even seem to care.

"Goodbye." I immediately started walking towards my car. Before I was about to be out of sight, I turned around and gave him a sad smile. "I would have loved you forever, you know." I spoke softly, but I was sure he heard me.

Not waiting to see his reaction, I walked to my car, letting the tears flow freely. I got in, closed my door, and sat there a minute or two sobbing. In my mirror I saw Vince's car pulling up and tried to wipe away my tears. I didn't want them to know I was upset.

A million questions popped into my head after their car was turned off. Did they know Ace had been cheating on me? Did they think it was funny? I thought they were my friends, my family, and I thought that Ace would be mine forever. I was wrong about Ace. Was I wrong about the rest of the Cobras too?

They got out and walked towards me, laughing and chatting the whole way. Eyeball got to my car first. He immediately saw my face and with a small gesture, the rest of the guys crowded around the car.

Charlie spoke up. "What happened Val?"

"Ace...and some girl." I could barely get the words out.

"That fucking bastard." I looked to Eyeball. He and Ace were thick as thieves. Did he know?

I looked at their faces and saw anger and sympathy. To say I was surprised would be an understatement.

"Didn't you know?" I addressed them all, and held my breath.

"Of course we didn't Val. We wouldn't let him hurt you!" Billy practically yelled.

I couldn't help but smile. I was right about them.

"Is he still over there?" Vince's eyes gleamed.

Although Ace had just broken my heart, I didn't want anything bad to happen to him.

"Can we all go to my house?" My voice was weak and they all agreed quickly. I must have truly looked pathetic.

"Eyeball? Can you drive me please?" Without saying anything, he opened the door. I scooted over to the passenger side so he could get in.

The other guys got in Vince's car without saying anything.

Over the last few months, Eyeball had become my best friend. We started talking one night at Ace's house, I was there to escape my parents and he was there to escape his. While talking we found that we both had something, or someone in common. We both loved Jessie. She was my sister, and she was his love. He first asked me if she ever mentioned him, and it grew from there. He had become my confidante and I had become his. He would tell me about his hopes and dreams and I would tell him mine. None of the other guys really knew how close we were. It was our secret.

The drive was fairly quiet. He could tell I wasn't ready to talk yet.

"You really didn't know?" I was already vulnerable. If I found out Eyeball had betrayed me, I would surely break.

"No." One of my favorite things about Eyeball was that he never lied to me. He would always tell me the truth. No matter what. Even if it hurt me. I always respected that.

"Thank you."

We were silent the rest of the way. When we got to my house, we all walked in and sat in the den. I went to the kitchen to get beers for everyone.

I walked back in and they all automatically stopped talking. I sighed.

"Can we just act like it's a normal day?"

They hesitantly agreed and started talking again. I just sat there with my thoughts.

Suddenly, I was really dreading leaving. I had grown so close to all these guys, what if I wasn't the same person I was before I left? What if the girls had changed? What if we no longer got along? I was immediately worried about my trip tomorrow. I thought about what to do, looking around the group, when an idea practically slapped me in the face.

"Do you guys want to come with me to California?" I chuckled at their shocked expressions and gave them some time to think.

"I want to go." I knew you would Eyeball. Jessie misses you just as much as you miss her.

"California babes? I'm in." Good ole Billy.

"Me too." Of course you would go Charlie. You do anything Billy does.

"I'd be down if I didn't have that job..." Aww Vince, I'll miss you.

"I understand Vince. I'll miss you." He smiled at me. I knew this would be hard for him.

"I can't go either. My Gran..." Fuzzy trailed off. We all knew his grandmother was quite sick and that he took care of her.

"That's okay."

I smiled at the guys. I can't believe I didn't think of this before. I was going to California...and Billy, Charlie, and Eyeball were coming with me.

Maybe Santa Clarita won't be so bad after all.

A/N Thanks for reading! Sorry it took so long for the update. I decided, out of nowhere, to quit school and my job and move to a different country. Still deciding if it was a good idea or not...haha

Reviews are amazing...but I've only had 1! I would probably be more obliged to write more if I had some inspiration...(hint hint!)

-acarly


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